By the time we reached Kaikoura we were suffering from a touch of tourism fatigue. Lets blame it on "The Resting Place" we had just departed. Apparently this bay affords great opportunity to see all sorts of marine life. The water depth drops sharply just a few hundred metres from the coast creating the perfect playground for Neemo and his mates. It's most popular for swimming with dolphins or whale tours but we can more cheaply do that elsewhere in the world. So lazy were we that when we arrived at the parking lot nearest to the seal colony we REALLY didn't feel up for the trek along the coast. We jokingly debated whether to ask other travellers who had just returned if we could see and maybe copy their pics, but of course that would be cheating! Fortunately for us the seals were equally lazy. They couldn't be assed to regroup with their posse so they just chilled around the parking lot. That's my kinda seals!

Before driving further north we stopped for some seaside backgammon (btw Mario's in the lead, a little too long for my liking) and also to feast on some "Lonely Planet recommended" (I'm so ashamed!) crayfish, prawns and paua (aka abalone aka perlemoen) fritters from a seaside mobile vendor. Yummy!

That night we found a handy picnic area with portaloo for a spot of freedom camping somewhere near Blenheim. It wasn't long before we were joined by 5 other vans, including one of those converted bus (yes, bus!) thingy-me-bobs with separate lounge, dining room and a huge satellite dish! We befriended and fed two local chicks who were trying to cross the road so, of course, we had to ask why?